A Bug In The Hand
by Jessica-X
Summary: Chat Noir happens to catch a Ladybug - literally. But she's on her way to a very important event when he makes a startling discovery about her. [Commission]


**A Bug In The Hand  
**A Miraculous Adrinette ficlet by Jessica X

WARNING: Miraculous and all related characters © Zagtoon. This story ©2019 to me! All rights reserved.

NOTE: This fanfic was commissioned by crazyfanatic97! Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

* * *

"WAAAUUAAAAAAAHHH!"

Adrien Agreste counted himself lucky that he had been on the way back to the wedding of his friend from their batter-smeared battle against Crepe Of Wrath when the cry sounded. When he watched Ladybug flying through the air, cartwheeling awkwardly. Normally he would expect her to be much more coordinated; she had been over the past year since they first began fighting crime together throughout Paris. But they were both human beings under their Miraculous masks, after all.

"Whoops! Milady needs me!" With a would-be casual shrug, he vaulted in her direction, angling the trajectory so he would catch her and land in a sturdy-looking shrub. Chat Noir wasn't about to let a damsel in distress go splat — especially when it was _the_ damsel.

The one that mattered most to him.

But as he caught up to her, arm stretching around her body, she began to shimmer and shift. _Oh no._ Clearly she had lost her grip because her Miraculous was running out of juice, and her trusty yo-yo had dematerialized first. Poor Ladybug! But whoever lived behind those black polka dots and red spandex would just have to be dropped off in the bush and he would move along as fast as possible. They weren't allowed to know each other's identities.

"HRRK!" she grunted when his body connected with hers, blasting them both sideways. "Chat Noir, what are-"

That was as far as she got. _Crash, snap, squish!_ It was all over in a flurry of limbs, both deciduous and homosapien, and… a strangely voluminous amount of fabric?

But Chat wasn't going to look. God, how badly he wanted to - this was something he had been dying to know every waking moment since he first laid eyes on the heroine! But it wasn't right if she didn't show him intentionally. So he slapped his hand over his eyes as soon as they were done falling and being smacked around by leaves.

"AuuuuuUUUGH, will you look at this?! I'm a trainwreck! Whyhyhyhyyyyy do these things always happen to me? How am I supposed to get married _now?!"_

Married?

No, it had to be a coincidence. Her voice did sound familiar, but there was no way…

Technically, she _did_ tell him to look at her. And there was no way he could resist finding out of his hunch was correct. So he parted his middle finger from his index, for the tiniest peek…

The sweet, hapless Marinette Dupain-Cheng was struggling out of the bush, her wedding dress snagging on branches at every movement. _Marinette_. No way. This was impossible, it couldn't be her, of all people! Adrien refused to believe it!

But he didn't have a chance to confront her. Her bluebell-hued eyes glanced over and saw his hand covering his before she let out a little squeak and took off at top speed.

"Well…" Adrien wasn't sure who he was saying that aloud to. But as his ring began to signal his own transformation was imminent, he ducked into the nearest alley.

All this time, she had been right under his nose. For some reason, he had convinced himself that it couldn't possibly be someone who went to Françoise Dupont High School with him. And it turned out to be a good friend, but someone he had never really thought romantically about.

Marinette didn't even like him that way! Wasn't he doubly doomed? Or wait… she _did_ once imply that she had feelings for him. But when he confronted her, she laughed it off and brushed it all aside, and he felt like an idiot for reading too much into the situation. Maybe it really was hopeless.

Besides… she liked Luka. He had seen him strumming his guitar for her often, fixating her with that seemingly sedated smile. That's why they were on their way to the altar now, barely eighteen and not wanting to waste a moment of their lives together.

"I'm so stupid," he hissed, slapping himself in the forehead.

"Got no argument from me," the magical floating ink spot that was his constant companion groaned from his shoulder.

"Plagg, not now."

"Yes, now, dude! Slip me some Camembert and we'll go after her. Or are you really going to let _the love of your life_ get away because you're mopey and I didn't get my cheese fix?"

Rolling his eyes, he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and produced a small wheel of fromage. The cat-shaped creature pounced on it and devoured it in a single bite.

"You really think there's any point?"

"You gonna know that for sure if you don't try, dumdum?" Plagg admonished him. Which he couldn't argue with. "Do the transformy thing already, I'm bored hanging around some smelly old alley."

"But you eat cheese that smells even- oh, nevermind. PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!"

~ o ~

_'This was _supposed_ to be the happiest day of my life.'_

That kept repeating over and over in Marinette's head as she struggled her way up the subway steps. Apparently, she had neglected to slip her bus pass into her gazebo-sized wedding gown, so she had no other recourse but to hoof it all the way back to the cathedral.

"Darn it, Luka," she grumbled as she trudged along. "I told you I didn't want a big ceremony like this! I wanted a much more tasteful gown I designed myself, something more… compact! This thing's so pretty but I can't do anything but- YEEP!"

Down she went. Luckily the huge billows of fabric helped to cushion her face so she didn't end up with a bloody nose.

"But that," she finished, muffled. Reaching back, she pulled off one of her lovely white shoes only to find the heel had snapped off. "Oh, perfect! I was just thinking I needed something _else_ to go wrong!"

A high, musical little voice chimed from her veil, "Marinette, it's only a dress! Think about how much Luka loves you! And you love him, don't you?"

She did. But Tikki's reassurances actually made her feel worse instead of better. Sure she loved him, but she knew her heart would always belong to Adrien. It just wasn't in the cards for them to be together.

"Need a lift, Mademoiselle?"

Her teary eyes glanced up to see who else but Chat Noir smiling down at her. The smirk he always wore for Ladybug was gone, replaced with something a little more polite, and his hand was reaching down to help her up.

"N-no, go away," she groaned. Then she remembered she wasn't supposed to be Ladybug right now; _Bystander Marinette_ had no reason to be rude to him. "I m-mean… I'm fine, thank you."

"Your shoe is broken. And unless you see a cobbler nearby, you're going to cut up your poor foot trying to get where you're going. Let me help."

Fair point. Scowling, she raised her arms in defeat and let him scoop her up into a princess carry. She settled the broken shoe on her lap as he began to bound over the rooftops.

"You seem pretty at ease with this," he commented. Which made her realize she had failed to squeal at being hurtled through the air as any normal girl would have.

"Oh. Well… with all these crazy attacks lately, Paris isn't the sleepy little town it used to be," she joked with an awkward grin.

"Guess not." But he was looking at her so intently. As if he couldn't take his eyes off her… like she was…

It came to her in a flash. Maybe it was Ladybug's intuition, or maybe it was just remembering that she had transformed in front of him catching up to her brain finally.

"You… know it's me… don't you?"

Chat shrugged easily as he continued to leap her toward their shared destination. "You, who?"

"Over here," she quipped quietly. But her expression was bitter and resigned. "You can drop the act. You saw me _spots-off_."

Landing only a couple of blocks from the cathedral, the black-clad boy heaved a great sigh before setting her down. "So I did. But… I didn't think you would want me knowing, so I tried…"

"I didn't. Well, more like you're not _supposed_ to know. Sometimes I thought it would be better if you did, but… rules and stuff."

Chat ran his fingers through his shaggy blond hair and stared out over the city they had sworn to protect together. "You treated me differently when you thought I didn't know who you were. Is it just… well, I don't know. Why?"

"Because…" Trying to put her finger on the reason, she finally gave up and just said, "You always lay it on so thick! How's a Ladybug supposed to fight crime with you blowing smoke up my skirt all the time?!"

Then she slapped her hands over her mouth, feeling terrible for being so rude. Especially when he wasn't freaking out over learning her secret, wasn't being accusatory or snide. But instead of being offended, he just laughed.

"Guess I should tone it down, huh? But don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Maybe someday, I'll share mine with you, if that's okay. I know I'm not supposed to, but-"

"No, no! It's alright. It's the code we are bound by." Then she smiled and nodded down toward the ground. "Mind dropping me off? I have a wedding to reschedule on account of ruined dress."

Chat winced when he took in the tattered state. Big swaths of fabric were hanging off, a hole gaped just enough that he could see her knee… plus the broken shoe. Marinette still looked beautiful but she certainly wasn't presentable to all her friends and family.

"Sure. I can do that no problem, Milady."

"That's another thing," she commented as he scooped her up to gently ferry her to the ground. "Do you _have_ to keep calling me that? What century is this, anyway?"

"You're going to keep telling me all the things I'm doing wrong just because I asked one time, aren't you?"

"Youuuuuu betcha."

~ o ~

But Adrien Agreste's heart was a little lighter as he let Marinette's doting parents fuss over the state of her gown, he himself departing the chapel. Not because he knew his lady was already taken.

Because if they weren't getting married today, he still had time. Maybe there was hope for the Cat and the Ladybug yet.

* * *

_THE END…?_


End file.
